Serious Inquiries Only

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Join Thomas for some critical thinking on questions of science, philosophy, skepticism and politics. These serious topics are discussed with some serious guests, but in an entertaining and engaging way! This is not your typical interview podcast; it’s a friendly dialogue, conducted thoughtfully and with plenty of humor. It's Serious Inquiries Only; but like, not boring or anything.

SIO442: Is Quantum Technology Actually Better?
In honor of World Quantum Day (April 14th), Quantum Anne is here to discuss when quantum is better, when it's worse, and when it could honestly go either way. For ideas on how to celebrate World Quantum Day, check out: Anne made cake (), that...
SIO441: Elon Musk's Neuralink - Real Or Just Hype? Part 2
Here's Part 2 of our deep dive into neural implants with Dr. Jenessa Seymour! The brain is still completely amazing, and so are the folks who are creating innovative technology to help people do things that have been otherwise out of reach. And then...
SIO440: Elon Musk's Neuralink - Real or Just Hype?
We've got an expert to take us through it! Dr. Jenessa Seymour is a former neuroscientist currently working in disability rights and she has looked through the history of neural implant efforts to investigate Elon's Neuralink claims. Just how full of...
SIO439: God and Country with Katherine Stewart
Author and journalist Katherine Stewart joins us today to discuss her reporting on religious nationalism, as well as the organization and structure behind these efforts, and what we can do in the face of it all. Be sure to check out the recent film ...
SIO438: That's Absurd Please Elaborate
I'm joined by Trace and Julian from the podcast, That's Absurd Please Elaborate! It's an incredibly fun and cool science show where they take questions that might seem weird or crazy but answer them using science! They're here to talk science...
SIO437: Zoë Schiffer on Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover
Elon Musk accidentally buying Twitter and then ruining it is a story so absurd and wild that someone should write a book about it. Lucky for us, Zoë Schiffer has! It's called Extremely Hardcore, and it's extremely good! She joins us to discuss the...
SIO436: They’re Retconning George Floyd’s Murder, but Radley Balko Is Fighting Back
Radley Balko is the guest today as we discuss the Right's efforts to retcon George Floyd's murder and Derek Chauvin's responsibility in a "documentary" from Alpha News, The Fall of Minneapolis. We walk through some of the debunks together, and chat...
SIO435: The Radical Idea That We Shouldn’t Work Ourselves to Death
Senator Bernie Sanders introduced to change the standard 40-hour workweek to 32 hours with no loss in pay and held a on March 14th. Naturally the right doesn't love this. But what do the studies say? And where did the 40-hour week even come from?...
SIO434: Biden Is Failing On Israel-Palestine. So What Do We Do?
It feels like this comes up precisely every 4 years, but once again I find myself having to point out that the way to make things better isn't to make them worse. That math just doesn't work. But what should we do? A campaign to vote "Uncommitted" for...
SIO433: The Robot at the End of the Universe
We're focusing in on some sci-fi with Dr. Bryan Gillis, astrophysicist to the stars! We take you through one of Ted Chiang's incredible short stories, , and Dr. Gillis teaches us about entropy and the Laws of Thermodynamics. What is the heat death of...
SIO432: How 13 Reasons Why Killed Kids
CW: Discussion of suicide; please skip this episode if it's better for your mental health After a long hiatus, Dr. Alan Smerbeck AKA Stormy Decisis is back to cover a topic we've been talking about discussing for a while. What does the research tell...
SIO431: The Em Drive Is Supposed To Be Impossible. So Why Did Experiments Say It Worked?
Dr. Bryan Gillis is back to walk us through a space travel concept that would have upended Physics as we know it if it had worked. But, wait a second - turns out there were quite a number of studies that actually successfully demonstrated its effect...
SIO430: Real or Bullshit: Quantum Products Edition!
Quantum Anne is back! She had a fantastic idea to quiz us all on some quantum products she has come across. Here's the thing though, mixed into the bull shit is the real stuff that she actually uses in her lab! Can you pass the test? It's not as easy...
SIO429: Artists Punished More Than Scientists for Same Misconduct
This was a really fun one! and join to walk us through their findings from a series of studies in their recent , which explored the differences in how artists and scientists are punished following news of misconduct, and the mechanism for why this...
SIO428: Regret After Gender-Affirming Surgery Is Virtually Nonexistent
out of Johns Hopkins University recently co-authored a in JAMA Surgery, examining postoperative regret for those people seeking gender-affirming care. We talk about how many people *actually* regret receiving surgery, how that compares with general...
SIO427: Rescuing Science, with Dr. Paul Sutter
We speak with cosmologist and science communicator about his upcoming book, Rescuing Science. Dr. Sutter thinks (Capital S) Science has made some significant errors, and that people do not trust science because of the very system it has created for...
SIO426: In Defense of Virtue Signaling
First off... I'M BACK ON OPENING ARGUMENTS!!! Good court thingies! Please please please go check it out! patreon.com/law! OK after that announcement, I wanted to talk about something that has been on my mind for a few months, ever since the...
SIO425: Can Science Be Spiritual?
, Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Warwick, joins to discuss a recent she published regarding whether or not science may serve as a spiritual experience for nonbelievers. Could loving science offer similar psychological benefits...
SIO424: Semen Caught Violating Newton's 3rd Law? (the one about cum)
Astrophysicist Dr. Bryan Gillis is back! And here's here to talk about... sperm? Well, when a science headline claims that sperm is violating Newton's 3rd Law, that's when the science police have to lay down the law, no matter how weird the topic. ...
SIO423: Bill Maher Gets Owned By Peter Griffin On COVID Nonsense
For the Bonus this month, Dr. Rick Sullivan, SIO's resident synthetic biologist, joined me to comment on the recent "debate" between Bill Maher and Seth MacFarlane on the COVID vaccine. The right says Bill pWnEd Seth, but what do you all think? Will...

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